Realistic" and "more austere colors" - What is the basis of the anime "BASTARD! What is the basis of "BASTARD!!!-God of Destruction in the Darkness"?

Netflix has finally started distributing the anime "BASTARD! -Destroying God of Darkness-", which has finally started streaming on Netflix.

This work strongly reflects the artistic talent of its director, Takaharu Ozaki. It can be said that the dense visuals and story have been beautifully developed into an anime.

Akiba Research Institute previously attempted a long interview with Director Ozaki ( "Inside People" of Anime and Games, No. 24 ), in which we detailed his theory of direction based on his experience as a cinematographer and 3DCG animator.

This interview reveals the boyhood of director Ozaki's attraction to "BASTARD! and the anime "BASTARD!!! -Dark God of Destruction-" with director Ozaki. and how the anime "BASTARD!!! -Dark God of Destruction-" with director Ozaki is a work that can stand up to trust and expectations.

Everything I love about "BASTARD!!!" into a realistic work of art.

--First of all, "BASTARD! During a special program announcing the decision to make an anime of "BASTARD! During the special program for the decision of the animation adaptation of "BASTARD! You had read the original work, but were you a real-time fan of "BASTARD! were you a fan of "BASTARD!

Ozaki: I had read it, but I did not follow it to the end. was like this kind of story. For me, I had a strong impression that it was the first work to express a classic fantasy worldview, rather than "what kind of story it was". In terms of rules and content, fantasy is not my forte. As I said in the special program, I have always loved the visual art of science fiction and fantasy, such as Frank Frazetta, who drew the covers for the "Conan the Hero" series and the "Tarzan" series. However, there were not many works that were made into images, and it was not a time when we could see "Lord of the Rings" or "Game of Thrones" as we do now.

--I think the only film that came after that was "The Neverending Story," and even after that there was "Labyrinth: The Devil's Labyrinth" and "Highlander: The Demon Warrior.

Ozaki Yes, that's right. I remember "Highlander" had Scotland in the second half. So, when I did not have many opportunities to experience fantasy, "BASTARD! and it was a work with illustrations in the atmosphere I liked, with characters moving and talking. Moreover, although it was in the shōnen manga category, it had content similar to that for young men. The scenes depicted sex and violence, which are very interesting for children (laughs). (Laughs.) That kind of excitement, "What's going to happen? (laughs).

--(laughs). -It seems that you were involved in a very deep world from junior high school and high school.

Ozaki I guess it would have to be the "Conan the Hero" series. Later, when "Conan the Great" was made into a movie, I thought, "This is how it's going to be. Then there was "Vampirella. That illustration. I think the character is a little bit like (Arshes) Ney, but I was influenced by that. I think science fiction was also popular at the time, and I bought a science fiction movie magazine called "Starlog" and peeked into fantasy elements from science fiction-like places. But then I went from there to horror.

--It became a boom in Japan under the influence of "The Exorcist," "The Omen," and "Suspiria," didn't it?

OzakiI really liked Dario Argento's films. I started liking fantastic and horror movies around junior high school, and since video rental shops were just starting to become popular, I invested my allowance and rented them all the time, even though I was a kid. I also had an older brother who would buy me horror magazines called "Fangoria" in Tokyo. And then there was "BASTARD! had elements of horror in it as well.

--The descriptions were gruesome for a work that was published in a boys' magazine.

Ozaki That's right. In terms of design, too. So it was like it had all the visuals I liked.

--I was told that the quality of the "BASTARD! I felt that the high quality of the "BASTARD!" elements in this film reflects the director's tastes. I could also sense that you are a cinematographer by trade, or that you have the taste of director Hamasaki, with whom you have worked frequently.

Ozaki: Mr. Hamasaki and I share the same taste in visuals. We both like abstract works that are a bit off the beaten path. Hamasaki-san is one generation older than me, so when we talk, the metaphors we come up with are films from the 1960s or thereabouts. However, I have seen those films on video when I was growing up, and we often talked about them. We often talked about French and other European films of the Nouvelle Vague era, and American New Cinema, for example.

--We often talked about movies, such as French and other European films of the Nouvelle Vague era, and American New Cinema. -I felt that "BASTARD!!!-Dark God of Destruction" has something in common with those films and Hamasaki's works. Especially in the coloring of the film, I felt a sense of austerity.

Ozaki That's right. I feel that I want to create austere images, or rather, I want to take a realistic direction. When live-action images are shot as they are, the color saturation is quite low. So I often adjust the colors later to raise the saturation. When I watch European films, I often see dry cityscapes with only blue skies, or clothing that is covered in strange reds, or other austere scenes with a touch of color. In this sense, Mr. Hamasaki and I really got along well. We talked about the world of David Lynch-like imagery and how cool Japanese electric wires are (laughs).

(Laughs) -- There are many fans of electric wires and poles. Director Hideaki Anno is famous for that.

Ozaki That's right. In other countries, electric wires are often buried underground, so it is a very Japanese landscape, and that is where the abstract expression comes from. Director Hamasaki and I get along well when we talk about how to express feelings without showing the characters. The other thing I admire is the way he creates pauses; it is difficult to create pauses in a TV series because of the format, but if I had the time, I could make a single cut last for several minutes, or even a few minutes with a few stop-motion pictures.

--I am also looking forward to working on the anime "BASTARD!!!! -The God of Destruction" also has some of these elements in it?

Ozaki: Maybe. I think there might be a little bit of that in the anime "BASTARD! -I wanted to make it more realistic and a little more austere, and since there is a lot of coloring in the original work, there are more color elements than usual, but the saturation is much lower than in the regular anime. If you get used to seeing it, though, it looks like it has color.

--The key visual poster also has a textured coloring, which is a combination of the darkness of the world of "BASTARD! The key visual posters also have a certain texture to them that matches the darkness of the worldview of "BASTARD!

Ozaki: Of course, my tastes and hobbies are also a part of it, but I wanted to create a realistic atmosphere. The use of blue also gives a retro atmosphere, and the overall color palette is more yellow and green. I thought it would be good to have an unpredictable retro feel, such as film noise or a reddish or greenish tint due to incorrect burning. Recently, we are in the digital age, and picture quality has gone up to 4K and 8K, so fewer people know about the film feel, and it is becoming more difficult to express it, but I really wanted to use a film simulator-like device to achieve a uniform color tone.

--What was the blueprint you drew when you received the offer to direct the film?

Ozaki: First of all, in my mind, I wanted to retain some of the impression of "BASTARD! I wanted to retain a certain amount of the impression of the "BASTARD! Rather than rearranging it in a modern style, I wanted to give it an atmosphere as if it had been created in the '80s or '90s. The use of austere colors was also a part of that. As for the character modeling, the "BASTARD! I thought it was necessary to have something other than eroticism and violence, which are too obvious to those who know "BASTARD! I wanted to have something other than just austere visuals, but I also wanted to have a sense of the root of the story. BASTARD! has elements of a wholesome shonen manga, so I was conscious of capturing that from an adult's point of view.

--What do you mean by "from an adult's point of view"?

Ozaki: For example, shōnen manga inevitably contain restrictions, but I think this should be included in the manga. In the adult world, I wonder if hiding the erotic, grotesque, and violent aspects will foster a healthy mindset. I think it is healthy to include both the parts you want to show and the parts you don't want to show, and only then can you make a judgment.

To be continued in Part 2!

(Reporting, writing, and photography by Koji Shimizu)